Charleston Magazine May: The Arts Issue

The Arts Issue. Charleston Magazine May. Great fun to design this piece on Don Zanfagna, a relatively unknown artist living right here in Charleston. Tim Hussey really captured him in the portrait for the opener. One of his pieces made a perfect "arts issue" cover.

Recent Work: Baby shower invitation, save the date, and cake!

Designed this Baby Shower BBQ for my husband's brother and his girlfriend. I saw some monkeys on some things that they registered for. And besides, the family joke about having Monk as a last name now perpetuates.


Lime green envelopes and raffia to tie the two cards together.

Save the date that I sent via email to folks who lived far away.

Couldn't resist a cake to match. Felt bad about art directing the bakers at Publix.... I gave them a sketch of the cake along with a design for the top and colors to match.

July Charleston: On the Water!

July. Our "On the Water" issue. Photographer Ben Williams got into the assignment by catching waves with our subjects. This image of a local kite boarder landed him the cover. It's not Waimea but it still has great energy.

This feature on board sports was inspired by new and old surfing graphics. My assistant art director did a great job piecing everything together for the opener. Photographs by Ben Williams.


And I really felt some love for this spread among many from our 2011 Summer Guide in the July issue. Love the quick reads, and giant cool treats that make you want to lick them right off the page.

The April 2011 issue of Charleston Magazine

Since I'm sort of an avid gardener, our garden issue is always fun. Not only do I have the opportunity to lay out beautiful features, but I get to steal ideas that I'll soon use in my own yard.

We try to shoot all of our big garden features a year in advance since we have to work on them when it's still winter outside. I sent this awesome photographer back three times so that we could catch several different things in bloom during last year's summer growing season.

The yard and garden were so huge and difficult to get a perspective on that I felt like a map illustration would probably help orient our readers.

Photographs by Peter Frank Edwards
Written by Melissa Bigner

Grand Strand Magazine: Recent Work

After being worked on in another office across the state, recently we brought this title back into our Charleston office fold. The demographics are totally different than Charleston so it's a terrific exercise!

This feature we did on edible landscaping was a bit of a challenge because of the season there was almost nothing to shoot. We added recipes from local Myrtle Beach chefs to make it more interesting and shot a couple of the dishes. Almost ALL of the images are stock. Something not ideal or exclusive, but in this case it made it happen.



And sometimes it starts with a sketch.

Retro Charleston Fashion Feature: Charleston Magazine March 2011

This '70s-inspired fashion shoot shot by Peter Frank Edwards was fun because we got to dig up some retro props. The albums are mine....Ted Nugent on the turn table which we borrowed from a consignment shop. Music played all day at the shoot. And that's my lava lamp in the small inset that usually sits in my office.
Polaroids are to make it feel like someone snapped them then laid them out.


The bottoms of the platform shoes were covered in tape to protect them. Some simple Photoshop work got rid of it. And what a great car that we borrowed from a local guy. A 1973 Buick Centurion.
And the small inset with the roller skates, those belong to an art intern. And if you look closely you can see the trimline phone that we borrowed from a consignment shop.

Recent Work: March 2011 issue of Charleston Magazine

The March issue is all about fashion. Fashion layouts and also getting ready for Charleston Fashion Week March 22-26. This is one of the busiest times for the staff. Not only are we producing magazines but also designing Fashion week posters, tickets, signage, and even giant adhesives for our event tent.

Here are some great shots done by Squire Fox. Readers nominated regular, everyday Charlestonians. Final votes were tallied and here they are.